The Beyond Within

There is more to reality than meets a normal eye. Behind the curtain of everyday consciousness is hidden another unutterably strange universe.

It's the world of mystical experiences and those who have been there describe the visit as the most significant event in their lives.

Until recent times, it was a world known only to holy man, to saints, and perhaps to the insane. Then a generation ago, this drug, LSD, escaped from the laboratory and was consumed by millions of young people.

To some, it's a doorway to the mystical universe - chemical ecstasy, enlightenment in a bottle. To others it's a dangerous and subversive poison.

The drug challenges our very conception of reality and its' turbulent history raises sharp questions about the dividing line between private experience and public policy.

30 Comments / User Reviews

I've done quite a few psychedelics. DMT, LSD, LSA, psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, 2C-E, DOC. LSD is the only synthetic one that is worthwhile, LSD, DMT and peyote are by far the most worthwhile of all of the ones i've tried. Mushrooms are the most likely drug to give you a bad trip cause a lot of nausea and are rather bland. LSA is rather weak. 2C-E gives you a ton of tension and is only moderately strong and is easier to overdose on than LSD and natural psychedelics(which are pretty much impossible to, only two people have ever died from LSD overdose taking 10,000+ doses of it and no one has ever died from DMT, psilocybin mushrooms or peyote). DOC was okay, but a 20 hour trip is really far too much and peyote is similar but with less bad side effects, DOC is also easier to overdose on than others.

Thats funny ...once upon a time ago i was getting by far not my first exp w "acid " however this was first exp w "liquid lsd" as opposed to the previous several dozen "paper acid hits"....so anyways im listening to Sepultura Chaos A.D. album ( i was just young man still so dont judge my story based on music preferences of 20 years ago please and thank you ) and the cd player boom box i was playing the tape /cd? on had the balance all the way over to one side and only was playing thru one speaker , anyways that album as lot of alternating left to right changes from both speakers ....it was so profound ....lol. i listened to whole album in absolute euphoric esoteric mystical orgasm inside my mind and when i tried to spread the "good news " of it all my friend instantly saw what was really going on and it has been great deal of personal humor normally opnly shared w myself so your story of the 2 windows playing is very funny and made me think of that little tidbit.

Russ101
- 09/13/2012 at 08:49

Hypothetically speaking- DMT is the easiest psychedelic to extract. My friend told me this joke about a kid who easily made DMT out of mimosa hostilis root bark, by grinding it up, adding it to a gallon or so of water with half a bottle of red devil lye he said and shook the VMP naphtha. one would find at a hardware store also. As it turned yellow he supposedly siphoned it and put it in a turkey baster or IDK and put the Naphtha in a cup lid tight inside a freezer and said his friend saw super pure dmt crystals. pouring the naphtha he caught some DMT but the rest he apperently scraped out with a schick razor after it all had evaporated. He said something idk about techs or 'teks' over the internet at a sirte called DMT nexus that said he could do this in a day.

said he met god in the form of a person. and researching DMT it apparently increases serotonin levels with use. but leaving someone feeling good for days. but he said he would recommend me Ayahuasca if I really wanted to do soul work. as the natives of South America take it to cut the corners to enlightenment. Plants are the guru's or prophets or idk of the modern world. But I suggest to everyone here to listen to Terence Mckenna on youtube for more intel on the matters at large. Some call psychedelics tools, or messages. Psychedelics are serious for serious people to gain some perspective in life. For god sakes why do people self-sanctimoniously run from them, they're obviously here to help us to quit running, and help you understand the only things worth learning which are impossible without them. either that or meditating for five years or something like that. We live in an age where you are permitted anything, Anything meaning Anything you can get away with.

However everything I 've said is a complete lie. Anything I have said was just a desperate act to get attention. I 'am obviously not mentally fit and I especially don't condone to the act of achieving spiritual empowerment via ayahuasca nor DMT not because the laws the law right. wouldn't that be wrong?

the white bust only has one eye. hello? a clue? also, right at the beginning the narrator lies - "LSD excaped form the lab". NO. It was purposefully put into the youth culture. Revalation without preparation is debilitating. That is what bad trips are. unprepared minds experiencing the world behind the curtain. It is a great way to de-legitimate alternative experiences, and the validity of seeing through the matrix. I remember stories of people jumping off the roof because they thought they could fly. it was all over the news in the '60's and early '70's, almost certainly apocryphal, and definitely used for propaganda. suspect this video and its producers.

i took a toone of shrooms once and had mystical experiences, i saw god in everything, and i was in a forest and i felt like i coudl attract the animals to me. without seeing it, i imagined a bunny and felt like i was communicating directly to me, then out of no where a bunny hops out just stares at me, somehow we shared an inside joke, its as if the bunny was god and i finally understood, and then its like he sort of winked at me with his mind and hopped away laughing. haha, but at the same time i dont think id recommend drugs to anyone, i wouldnt do any drugs if i could start my life over

yeah.. you are the reason no one wants to do drugs. Drugs are amazing if used correctly. Recreational use and using to forgot about problems is bound to f*** you over. you still sound r******* and I'm glad. Drugs are meant to be abused.

Patrick
- 09/15/2010 at 22:57

About this first part: What a trippy movie. I watched this last night while stoned off my ass of some incredible weed and I felt like this movie was trying to hypnotize me, especially the part where they describe the author of the doors of perceptions trip. That part was hypnotic.

I can supposedly get real LSD, although I have yet to seriously attempt that theory. The one time I kinda half-heartedly tried my friend seemed kinda surprised when I said I'd actually be interested in getting some. He had the look of someone who was talking for the sake of talk. I know he has done it within the past 2 years a few times, though.

I decided to educate myself more on the subject. I've tried most drugs at least once. Only becoming addicted to painkillers after being disabled and getting them longterm. Certainly an addiction that happens to people who don't and do use drugs that are outside of the social norm alike.
I've tried DMT, and mushrooms (I won't make myself a laughing-stoke by attempting to spell the name of the chemical in them), most people who study these things even lightly know what I'm speaking of, anyway. The DMT I was given was from a trusted source. The fact the effects only lasted 10-30 minutes was actually quite pleasing to me. Also, I had studied it quite a bit before trying it. I knew it was perfectly safe to try.
I ended up coming up with the idea and plot to the best story I've had yet. So far I've been told it's quite well-written. Not by any critic or publisher though, so I take it happily, but without much weight.
Mushrooms, the first few times, were amazing. The last few, were not. Two bad trips had kinda ruined it for me. Although I would take them synthetically.
As for LSD, the search and hope continues. I believe LSD will be looked at again within the next few decades. Hoffman certainly lived long more than long enough to deserve and see some more credit for his work, unforunateyly my version of long enough is different from what the government and many of the ill-educated masses'. Dag-nabbit!

You really should fully consider all aspects of a drug if you're going to give in to the escapism of drug abuse-- any extent of use at all really.

If you're going to use a destructive drug and form a habit of hiding from your reality and really submit youself to a substance for escapism, you're really better off just going with an opiate/opioid. Alcohol is much more harmful and damaging to the body, opioids are relatively non toxic. Dependence/withdrawals from abusing your µ-opioid receptor and having a consistently constipated GI tract is the worst a heroin, opium, oxy, etc. can do to you. It's really harmless compared to the damage alcohol has on the body, let alone the behavioral effects alcohol can trigger.

Or if you just want to be highly self destructive you can abuse stimulants and slowly kill yourself via excessive 1)sleep deprivation 2) malnourishment and 3) Mental unstability from the resulting imbalance of endorphins from the use, and episodes of psychosis induced by excessive levels of dopamine in the brain and sleep deprivation.

That's not even half of all the factors to consider about substance use. Most people aren't even aware of anything much more than "I can take this stuff, and it makes me feel good".

Mike
- 07/13/2010 at 17:36

Don't know what Rob is talking about, but the scenes were well thought out.May not have the visuals of Avatar, but does have a good cinematographer. For instance, the opening scene w/ the violinist, then the small bootle of LSD w/ the image of the violinist inside symbolizing morphed or new realities. Great job

This is a brilliant documentary. I really enjoy seeing all the different perspectives on LSD.

I have done LSD, and other psycho-actives, and it has
produced some of the most amazing realizations and
experiences of my life.

However, LSD or any other hallucinogen should never be done without great knowledge, great preparation, and the presence of experience - either in yourself or in a guide.

Shaman of many cultures have used psychotropic drugs from thousands of years and their society did not break down. Why? Because, the drug was wrapped in a format that held all the three elements mentioned above. It is sad for me to see how many people used a good thing stupidly and ruined the possibility of controlled access for those who are responsible.

I love the unknowledgeable smugness of British philosopher, it is crime to comment on the properties and qualities of thing authoritatively if you have never tried it.

Oh, and I would never suggest you try LSD to escape reality. If you do you could discover everything you never wanted to know about yourself and reality in the worst way possible.

I have experienced many trips on LSD and have to say that people should not take LSD unless they are pretty strong minded. Tripping can be an amazing experience but can very easily turn nasty. A bad trip is the last thing you want to put your mind through.

I took some acid two weeks ago...It was the first time in ten years as I wanted to experience that loss of all reality again.
It was literally mind blowing. About 4 hours of bent reality which was great, but when you decide you've had enough, its not just a bus you can get off from. You stay till the ride is over and in my case the ride took quite a while...more than I was wanted. Would I do it again? Yes! Though next time it will be during the day and not at a trance party.

Walk into town, maybe make yourself look a little scraggly (don't wear a suit) and ask the nearest hippie looking person above the age of 16 but younger than 40. They -may- be able to point you in the right direction.

Wow! A lot of beautiful girls were dropping acid in the sixties... also very interesting is how the social climate they depict of that particular era sounds eerily similar to our current situation. Especially among the minds of the new youth generation.